Scyld Berry: Kevin Pietersen could be a big hit in the IPL this time

Straight after England's second Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka, Kevin
Pietersen is off to the Indian Premier League - where English players could
well have more success this year than before, if only because the overall
standard is going down.

Second coming: Kevin Pietersen of the Royal Challengers BangalorePhoto: REUTERS

By Scyld Berry

9:05PM GMT 20 Mar 2010

So far there have been few internationals on show apart from has-beens. The only current Test players are the Sri Lankans and the South Africans; and the South Africa captain, Graeme Smith, is out of the tournament after breaking a finger in catching the mother of all skiers launched by Virender Sehwag.

The first IPL in India, and the second in South Africa, were blessed with fortune. Now the wheel is turning, and one famous name after another is being injured, bringing in ever more unremarkable players.

The intensity seems to be wearing off too, along with the novelty. For several older players it is a nice day out on full pay, an exhibition game or a veterans’ match with some keen young locals thrown in - although this might be the cue for the organisers to tell the players, as well as the commentators, to ham it up.

When a medium-pacer pitches a ball in the slot and it is slogged over a not-very-long boundary for six - sorry, not a six, but a ‘DLF maximum’ - the inevitable comment is that the hit is ‘huooooge’.

Although Pietersen made a modest start to his IPL career last year, he should repay Royal Challengers Bangalore some of his $1.55 million this time.